One mitten down...

MagKnits mitten
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

...one to go. Note the strange angle from pinky to freakishly long middle finger. And I'm not sure why the ribbing is bigger than the mitten; except that the homespun I'm working with was spun unevenly. That's my story and I'm stickin to it.

Pattern here.

Benjamin, making himself useful.

Thanks Jen!
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

...with a lovely package of gifties from Jen. Thanks!! I wish I had some duplicate needles to send you to help replace your lost stash.

We LOVE Click Clack Moo as Baba collects cows. Now we have our own copy. And the sweater fits Ben fine; not having buttons helps.

Working on the decreases for my first-ever mitten. It looks like it will fit fine, although I had to frog it twice--once when I put the extra gap stitches for the thumb on the stitch holder (corrected thanks to some fine folks here) and again when I realized the decrease in the pattern was going to make the mitten too short.

Then again, I have freakishly long hands (especially my middle finger), so it's been helpful to do my own thang on the decreases. It might end up looking weird, but at least it will fit right.

So Doc, you're saying I just need more...

Fiber Fair
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

...fiber? Well, okey-dokey Smokey!

I was on my way to crop yesterday (yes, on a SATURDAY, don't fall over) when I drove past signs for the Spinners Flock fiber fair. This only happens twice a year, in February and September, and I was late (it was almost 2 o'clock), but it was very relaxing to look around and mmm...feel some fiber, baby.

I picked up some cheap homespun and--nasty anti-gauge-swatch-knitter that I am--started right up on my first pair of mittens. Which may need to be felted to fit.

Hey, it was cheap homespun.

Behind the homespun is a bag of roving, different appropriate hair-colored roving, to make more fairy dolls. Of course, I could make a couple thousand fairy dolls with all that roving, but then again, maybe I will be forced to learn how to spin. Never say never, right?!

Here's the latest fairy I made (this past fall, I think). She's my favorite, so far. I found the best flowers for her dress. Unfortunately, after months of heavy playing with Tess, she's gone slightly bald (she was a kind of greenish-blonde, the only roving I had). Maybe I'll need all that roving after all, for repairs.

The Bad Cold has hit me now (naturally). I could handle it better if I weren't--OH THE HORROR--out of coffee. Strangers bearing fresh-ground hazelnut coffee to my house anytime soon will have their feet washed. Or, better yet, be given a pair of hand-knit socks.

Creative Manifesto

Cover
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

Did this as a challenge over at Ali Edward's blog, from her email 'zine. All stuff that's been going through my head for a while now, in regards to scrapping, photography, quilting, knitting, etc., etc.; nice to get it in "hard copy."

I worked on it while Ben yelled (he has cold so he's not comfortable in any one place for more than 3 minutes. Seriously), so it's not as "perfect" as I'd like it to be, haha, I only came up with 8 statements but a 9th one could definitely be "Not perfect but DONE."

1. Pay Attention
2. Record inspiration (I have yet to find a really good way to do this, but I will)
3. Use what you have (heh...I used a bunch of SU stuff I've bought recently to make this mini-album!)
4. Take time to plan
5. Keep it simple
6. Zoom in (good for photography AND "paying attention"
7. Be bold
8. Accept ~ Learn ~ Move on

All-day crop

I've never attended one of these, but I really hope to next Saturday. I did not know my beloved Yankee Air Museum suffered such a loss (you know, it's not like I was off say, oh, raising a family or anything).

Off to find those pictures I took when I visited in early 2001 (I was newly pregnant with Tess when I last visited...and didn't yet know it). Oh, lookie. Found the whole file.

My grandmother, great-aunt, and great-uncle all worked at Willow Run building B-24s during WWII. My father and his siblings were dropped off at daycare in Saline as children so that my grandmother could be a Rosie the Riveter (actually, she worked building electrical panels, but--whatever). That's a part of my history I have yet to explore in greater depth, and now it will be harder with such a loss.

Yankee Air Museum Benefit
Our very own Sarah is hosting this benefit crop to benefit the Yankee Air Force Museum which was destroyed in a fire in 2004. The fire destroyed the entire museum, but volunteers saved three warbirds that were housed there and generous donations of war memorabilia have been received since. A new museum now needs to be constructed to house and preserve these items to ensure its history is maintained.

Sarah has collected prizes that include a free gift from Bennigan's Restaurant for the first 16 to reserve their space, raffle prizes, a 50/50 drawing. Tarot Readings will be available for a donation! What fun! Come see what's in the cards for you and help preserve a very important part of our Nations' history!

Crop runs 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17. Fee is $30 per person (all ages invited) and includes snacks, lunch and beverages. Should be a lot of fun, so gather up your friends or family and spend the day with Sarah at Scrap Tales.

Another gift hat

Girly Hat
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

This is for the family that just had twins, what? last year? So now they have 4 kids under the age of 5. Yikes. The newest's name is Zara, so I tried a little fair isle and threw in a "Z" with some leftover yarn. Looks more like a "2," dammit. Oh well. At least it won't get mixed up with the hats I made for her older brother & sister.

I'm almost out of this yarn and Adrafil no longer makes it. Boo. It's a pretty basic weight, though--worsted--but it was such a nice mix of wool, acrylic, and elastic that it was super-soft and "bouncy." The red was my absolute favorite shade of yarn, ever. Nice and bluesy, not at all orange-red. Yum.

Just like a cobbler's son, Ben does not have his Adrafil Jumping hat yet. I started that next. In red! Then that's truly the last of my stash for this yarn.

He has been wearing the Last Minute Knitted Gifts "Shaker" baby hat I knit for him before he was born; that will be my next gift hat for future babies. Really covers his ears & the back of his head nicely in this extra-brisk weather we're having. I bought some pink Rowan Kid Classic to have on hand for the next little one to come along. Oh, yeah, thanks (snort) Lynne, for alerting me to Flying Sheep's yarn sale last week. Damn you! (I kid because I love).

Below is a shot of the top of this hat, which I just love, even though I screwed this one up a bit. I finished it at knitting last night but (!) we did not get the "comfy" chairs at Sweetwaters and had to sit in a draft near the entrance to their back room. There was a guy hogging one, ONE of the three comfy chairs all evening...my suggestion to go sit next to him and knit and talk about menstruation to scare him off wouldn't have worked; he had earplugs in.

I didn't stay long; I had to haul home to work the next 25 pages of my current copyediting job. This one's 300 pages long and I'm busting through it. The last one was so full of mistakes that even at 200 pages it took me nearly as long (13.5 hours, if you must know) as the first manuscript I corrected--and that one was 300 pages (FYI, it took 15 hours). I figure if I get in 25 pages a night, I'll have this next one finished on time.

I love the non-fiction titles I'm working on--interesting topics and, working at home, no office politics. It's been nice keeping my feet wet in the publishing world. Oh, and the checks have been comforting, too.

Top of hat
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.